Celtics Head Coach Joe Mazzulla Reveals Mindset After Winning NBA Title
It feels like Joe Mazzulla is in mid-season form just a month after guiding the Boston Celtics to an NBA title. Outside of the championship parade through the streets of Boston, there was no extended partying or celebrating for Mazzulla, who reached the pinnacle of his sport at 35 years old and in just his […]
It feels like Joe Mazzulla is in mid-season form just a month after guiding the Boston Celtics to an NBA title.
Outside of the championship parade through the streets of Boston, there was no extended partying or celebrating for Mazzulla, who reached the pinnacle of his sport at 35 years old and in just his second season at the helm of the Celtics.
Instead, Mazzulla found enjoyment not at looking back at the past, but by already thinking about trying to get the Celtics to reach the mountaintop again next season.
“I’m having the most fun already figuring out how we’re going to re-create the environment, the mindset, the connectivity of all the things we talked about this year,” Mazzulla told the Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn. “How do we create them to be better and to be different?”
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A repeat certainly is a strong possibility for the Celtics, who will basically have all the pieces in place from their title run this year and perhaps a new one in first-round draft pick Baylor Scheierman.
But Mazzulla isn’t going to look too far ahead. His singular focus in a long season benefitted Boston to the tune of an NBA-best 64-18 regular-season record plus a pristine 16-3 mark in the playoffs.
And he’s looking to use that same approach next season in an effort to net the same results.
“I know greatness is only looked at in society as a trophy and a championship, but the process toward winning, that is what has been in the Celtics organization long before I got here, when I got here, and that’s the goal, to continue that process toward greatness,” Mazzulla said. “The organizational alignment that we have, the relationships that we have, sustainability that we’ve been able to have as an organization, those things have been going on before banner 18.
“The goal is to continue that process toward greatness, the process toward winning, by focusing on the right things, the values that we talk about, the relationships, the mind-set, and the process of winning. That’s the No. 1 goal.”